Rental Property Investor · Bend, OR · Member since 2020 · 33 posts · 18 votes
Hey Everyone,
I’ve been looking at some properties in the Beltzhoover neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA. They caught my eye in that the current listings in the neighborhoods surrounding seemed to be going for $100-200k, yet these homes are listed far below that. They need work, but that’s the name of the game right?!
When I research the neighborhood however it gives some pretty grim reviews. Sounds like crime and gangs are pretty active in this area. Also, certain sources were pinning this neighborhood at a $50k average home value so if this is the case then it tosses out my interest in these properties.
I try to avoid calling local realtors and property managers in an effort to respect their time, since I hold no loyalty to any particular city right now and could very well end up never doing business there. So I figured I’d shoot something onto the forum to confirm my thoughts that maybe I should stay away from the area.
@Brendan Lawrence Hi Brendan, I've lived here my whole life and personally I would not recommend Beltzhoover. There are plenty of other neighborhoods worth looking at for investors.
@Brendan Lawrence Hi Brendan, I've lived here my whole life and personally I would not recommend Beltzhoover. There are plenty of other neighborhoods worth looking at for investors.
Hi I’m a local Wholesaler and just had a good friend ask me if I could sell a property he bought there a while back.( it was about halfway done).
I found people who invest there for rentals and found a couple new flips there so around 90 on the high end. So depending on your strategy it could be a ok spot.
But Basically you would have to find a rare property that’s not a complete gut( seems like most are there) for like no more then 10k fix it up rent it out for 20+ years. Then I believe you would get good  appreciation. Lol I know crazy but it could happen.
Anyways I don’t see flips or much anything else being worth it there right now.
Appraisers are said to avoid crossing major roads if they don’t have to. Warrington Ave and Beltzhoover Ave separate the area into four square-ish neighborhoods, Beltzhoover being the southwestern section. An appraiser will probably search for comps first in the areas west of Beltzhoover Ave and south of Warrington Ave. If there is just nothing good to comp to then they’ll branch out.
So if your appraiser is forced north into Allentown or especially Mt. Washington to find comps then you could get a boost in value. Takes the right kind of property and some luck.
The Investor’s Journey podcast talks about stumbling into this in a San Antonio flip they did. They realized the appraiser would have to reach out for comps in a hotter neighborhood directly north of them. It paid off when they went to sell.